A source of help; Virginia Beckman named executive director of Genesis House

Virginia Beckman wants Lorain County residents to think of Genesis House not just as a place that provides shelter for domestic violence victims, but a place that continually helps those affected.

Beckman, who has been heavily involved with the Genesis House, took the role of executive director in August after former executive director Marilyn Zeidner announced her retirement last summer. Zeidner was the founding executive director in 1995. Beckman joined the Genesis House in 1998 where she was a legal advocate. Since then, she has held several roles throughout the years. In 2010, she took a full-time position in Cleveland as program director for a homeless shelter and transitional housing program.

Beckman said that she has worked at multiple homeless shelters throughout Cuyahoga County so she knows how they run things. Even though she was a full-time program director, she still stayed and did part-time work for Genesis House. Once Zeidner was leaving, Beckman stepped to the plate.

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"I expressed my interest in coming back as director," Beckman said. "It's not just all administrative duties, but doing grant requests, reports and managing the staff."

Beckman received her BSA at Cleveland State University in psychology and sociology. She went and received her master's at Norwich University in public administration.

For this year, Beckman said she has already spent a lot of time working directly with other agencies to collaborate which she said will help get an idea of what other agencies do.

Beckman's biggest challenge is she is her own worst enemy, she said. Most times she will get excited about ideas and wants to do everything at once, but she knows that she has to slow down and do each project one step at a time. For now, she is focused on creating more partnerships like with the Boys and Girls Club of Lorain County.

"It's really fun and wonderful to work with other agencies," Beckman said. "When you replace someone, you don't know how the community will react."

Beckman said Zeidner has done an excellent job with Genesis House and wants to continue to keep it as strong as it is. She also would like to expand some of the services they already offer like community education, trainings and public awareness. In October, she plans to do more events surrounding domestic violence because it is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

All people really know is that the shelter is associated with the Genesis House. That is a very good thing, she said, but they need to spread to everyone throughout the county.

"Really, in a county like Lorain County, we need to reach out," Beckman said.

Genesis House brings legal advocates in municipal courts and support groups at their outreach house located at 3575 Elyria Avenue in Lorain. Beckman said they also provide art groups at the shelter for children so they can express their feelings through art. At the Murray Ridge Center they provide a curriculum on how to be safe for those with developmental disabilities. The curriculum is not just for children who have been affected by domestic violence, Beckman said. The curriculum has been offered since 2000.

"We do lots of stuff in the community," she said. "I like to think of people thinking Genesis House is something that can help in many ways."

Genesis House also strives to help woman and children with personal needs. The outreach center, Beckman said, has been the donation dumping ground. A wall is lined with soaps, razors, blankets, stuffed animals, deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpastes and many other items. Those who relocate to the shelter often need assistance with their basic needs.

Beckman said she sees a bright future in 2013. Over the last few years, Genesis House has seen a couple hundred thousand dollars taken away from the organization's funding. Beckman said every non-profit around is affected by cuts.

The annual operating budget is $700,000 which is funded by a variety of sources such as Lorain County Board of Mental Health, United Way, Lorain County Department of Job and Family Services, Lorain County Commissioners Office, Majic Foundation, Nord Family Foundation, Nordson Corporation Foundation and others. Beckman said one of the largest source is private donations.

At any given time, the Genesis House has about 18 employees at any given time. The number tends to go up and down because Genesis House has many part time employees who work evenings, nights, holidays and weekends. There also are part time employees who work for emergency shelter and for the 24-hour hotline.

Genesis House was originally formed in 1979 as a domestic violence shelter that was a program of a parent agency that served children and youth. In 1995, Genesis House established itself as an independent, private non-profit agency. The shelter has 22 beds and houses women and children who are fleeing domestic violence.

The Genesis House provides after care services, support groups, legal advocacy, disabilities advocacy, children's advocacy, community education and prevention efforts.